Alan Davey to speak at Radio 3 Conference

BBC Radio 3 Controller Alan Davey is one of the speakers to appear at the upcoming conference, Diversity and Inclusion in Composition.

The one-day event will explore strategies for the enhanced inclusion of culturally diverse (BAME) classical music composers in mainstream programming.

The one-day event will take place on Wednesday 19th October at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester and is hosted in partnership with BASCA, the BBC Philharmonic and the Royal Northern College of Music, and in association with the BBC Black and Asian Forum.

After the Diversity and Inclusion in Composition conference sessions end, a special edition of In Tune presented by Suzy Klein will broadcast live from the event (4.30-6.30pm) with a studio audience.

The conference will be reflected in further BBC Radio 3 programming across the week. From Monday 17th to Friday 21st October, both Breakfast (6.30-9am) and Essential Classics (9-12am) will feature the music of composers from black, Asian and other minority ethnic communities with the former concentrating on British composers and the latter taking an international historic view, while Composer of the Week (Monday-Friday, 12am-1pm) will explore the life and music of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912) – the composer of works including Hiawatha.

On Saturday 22nd October, Music Matters (12.15-1pm) will present a special edition of the programme recorded at the conference, Sound of Cinema (3-4pm) will explore the contribution black composers have made to cinema , while Hear And Now (10-12pm) will have a special focus on contemporary music by BAME composers – both home and abroad. The following day, the Early Music Show (Sunday 23rd October, 2-3pm) will focus on the life and music of the 18th Century Guadeloupe composer, Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745 – 1799), often referred to as “the black Mozart”. Finally, Saturday Classics will bookend the week (Saturday 15th and 22nd October, 1-3pm) with two programmes presented by the singer and composer Roderick Williams.

Alan Davey says: “BBC Radio 3, and the Third programme before it, has always been a cultural patron and it’s essential we are working with the wider classical and cultural industry to do our bit to reflect and draw on the cultural diversity of the UK. Our Diversity and Inclusion in Composition forum is a stake in the ground to that end. I said when I started at BBC Radio 3 that I wanted us to look at this area and we are committed to making a difference. The more we invest in diversity, the more talent and interesting art will emerge and we’ll be able to connect our audiences with even more remarkable music and culture that is reflective of the kind of country we are. In our 70th anniversary year, we’ll be looking to take lessons from the forum so that we expand the canon for the future, whilst also inspiring new audiences to connect with music.”

The Diversity and Inclusion in Composition event is part of BBC Radio 3’s special patronage of the arts to mark the 70th anniversary of the BBC’s Third Programme. The Third Programme launched on 29th September 1946 and is the forerunner of BBC Radio 3.